Meet the Chefs of Sodexo Live!: Chef Donna Hunter

Donna Hunter, the executive chef at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, has a lot on her plate. As head of the culinary program at one of the largest basketball arenas in the country, she is tasked with creating game-changing menus for thousands of fans on any given game day. 

Since opening in October 2010, the arena has welcomed nearly 10 million guests and hundreds of world-class sporting and entertainment events to the heart of downtown Louisville and serves as the homecourt for the University of Louisville’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. The arena is also consistently ranked among the nation’s top 30 venues for concert tickets sales and was recently voted a Top 5 “coolest arena in the nation,” according to Rolling Stone. Set in the heart of downtown, the KFC Yum! Center serves as a significant asset in helping to attract visitors from all over the world to Louisville. 

We catch up with the chef and talk about her early influences and what people really want to eat at sporting events in a city known for its bluegrass enthusiasts, bourbon drinkers and horse racing.

Interviewer: How did you get interested in the culinary arts? 

Chef Donna Hunter: It started when I was in high school and I took home economics classes and courses like that. I took a vocational class and earned a certificate. When I got out of high school, I went to a technical college and I loved it. My first job, I worked at the Brown Hotel, a local landmark where generations of Louisville’s finest have celebrated weddings, anniversaries and life’s biggest events. 

In 2002, I went to Churchill Downs, where I worked directly on the Kentucky Derby annual revelry. From there I became one of the supervisors, then a sous chef. Then in 2010, I came to Sodexo Live! as executive sous chef. I was promoted as executive chef here at the Yum! Center in 2013, and I’ve been here since, enjoying each and every day. 

Interviewer: Who were your early influences in the kitchen? 

Chef Donna Hunter: I have my Grammy and my mother, and that’s pretty much where the interest comes from, from helping them around the kitchen and helping them cook and prepare for meals. We prepared all types of food every day — basic ones like chicken, hamburgers, fried fish. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we made all kinds of different things and I always loved helping them. 

Interviewer: What is a typical day like at the Yum! Center? 

Chef Donna Hunter: We have about three to four games a week. On a game day, we come in and get the suites ready. We have five — we call them donor rooms, but they’re like clubs — that we set up food displays in. We serve the media on every game day as well. We also have 75 suites, and retail with hot food and specialty items. We work hard to have everything ready before the guests arrive. 

Interviewer: About how many people do you cook for on game day? 

Chef Donna Hunter: The 75 suites hold about 16 to 24 people each, but not all of them are sold out all the time. And the arena hosts 22,000 people. But the numbers fluctuate, and it’s not every day we have a sold-out game. And we do catering for concerts and business meetings, too. 

Interviewer: What kind of items do you generally have on your menu? 

Chef Donna Hunter: We serve different types of food. When I write the menus, I think about the demographic. Some stuff that may work on the West Coast may not work here because people here eat more soul food. They eat a lot of meat and potatoes, a lot of heavy foods. But I have all types of food on my menu, whether with our local meat products and specialty hot dogs, or integrating with local Heaven Hill Brands and Rabbit Hole Distillery. There is always something new for guests to enjoy.  

 Interviewer: Are there items that are more popular than others? 

Chef Donna Hunter: We do a lot with mac and cheese and, in some instances, we put some turkey and bacon on top. Fans truly love our buttermilk chicken tenders that we fry fresh. People want items that they can just pick up and go, like platters. We sell a lot of appetizers — tenders, hamburgers, hot dogs. 

Interviewer: Do you serve any plant-based items on the menu? 

Chef Donna Hunter: We have Swedish vegan meatballs on my menu, and we have veggie burgers in the concession stands. More and more every year, everyone wants plant-based, so I make sure I have vegetarian options on my menu. I really like Beyond Meat burgers too, actually, as I didn’t think I would! 

Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in five years? 

Chef Donna Hunter: Hopefully retired! (Laughs.) And maybe have my own restaurant, where I do food from all different cultures. I wouldn’t stick to one kind of cuisine because people want different cuisines now. 

Interviewer: What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job? 

Chef Donna Hunter: I love what I do, which is my passion. I love seeing our fans happy, and when everything goes well on a daily basis with the support of my Sodexo Live! team.